Four and Out: Tigers-Huskers

Friday

It’s a shorter week on the blog with Friday being a travel day, so here’s two regular blog features mixed into one.

? FIRST DOWN: Lincoln Journal Star columnist Steve Sipple was nice enough to share some thoughts on the Huskers and Saturday’s matchup with Missouri for this week’s Writer’s Block.

BTS: What did Texas expose about this Nebraska team, if anything, in the game two weeks ago?

Sipple: Texas gave credence to the notion that Nebraska struggles in run defense. The Longhorns are by no means a strong rushing team, but they dented the Huskers for 209 rushing yards (4.5 per carry). Nebraska tackled poorly in that game — Bo Pelini counted 28 missed tackles — and again tackled poorly in the first half of the Oklahoma State game last week. Meanwhile, Texas' speed caused problems for Nebraska's offense, especially quarterback Taylor Martinez (13 carries, 21 yards). The Longhorns kept two sets of eyes on Martinez at all times and also took away the wide side of the field on running plays. The Huskers dropped no fewer than eight passes against the Hookems.

BTS: The Husker defense is still one of the best in the country against the pass, but how did losing Ndamukong Suh affect the D-line as far as pass-rush and stopping the run?

Sipple: No question Suh's loss has had a significant impact in both areas. Nebraska has had only one sack in the last two games and has been just OK in terms of getting pressure on passers. Jared Crick, the preseason Big 12 co-defensive player of the year, leads the team with six tackles for loss and is tied for first with fellow interior lineman Baker Steinkuhler with 3.5 sacks. Defensive coordinator Carl Pelini said this week of the Husker line: "I want to see them cut loose. Part of it's our fault” as coaches “and part of it is their fault ... just in terms of how we've had to defend draws and stuff like that. In the Oklahoma State game, we were allowed to turn them loose a little bit more, and I think they got some better pressure...They're doing just fine. There's a couple of first-year starters” on the line. “They're all doing fine. I'm happy with their performance."

BTS Is Martinez as good a passer as his numbers at OSU would indicate or was that just bad defense on the Cowboys' part? Is he skilled enough as a thrower to carry the offense if Missouri limits the run game?

Sipple: Offensive coordinator Shawn Watson has said all along that Martinez is a very good passer. Martinez had to prove himself as a passer before winning the starting job in the preseason. He certainly possesses the arm strength to make all the necessary throws. As a relatively young player — a redshirt freshman — he doesn't always make the best decisions with the ball. He'll force the issue on occasion (Pelini said this week Martinez "has a little Favre in him"). He's still learning how to progress through his reads. However, "He has the skill set, the talent. It’s all there," Watson said recently. "He’s got the quick release. He’s got excellent ball speed. He’s got a strong arm, excellent feet. I mean, he’s got all the skill set."

Now, is Martinez skilled enough as a thrower to carry the offense against a defense as athletic and skilled as Mizzou's? My guess is he hasn't advanced to that level. Oklahoma State entered last week's game ranked 114th nationally in pass defense.

BTS: How is the Nebraska fan base approaching this game, and for that matter, this final season in the Big 12?

Sipple: I think Husker fans, generally speaking, are realistic about this game. This is a very intelligent fan base. Obviously, many Husker fans saw Missouri defeat Oklahoma. I'm sure they understand that the Tigers have an excellent system on offense and an NFL-ready quarterback. They've watched Mizzou gain ground on NU in recent years. What's more, and this is what impresses me the most, the Tigers suddenly are playing very good defense. Where did that come from? Whatever the case, their athleticism is very evident and they play with great confidence. Bottom line, I think most Husker fans — I've talked to several — realize Saturday's game will be very, very difficult.

Thing is, there's considerable pressure on Nebraska. The Huskers are expected to win this game. They were expected to easily capture the Big 12 North. Anything short of winning the North will be considered a significant failure. Lose this game and, well, Nebraska's chances of getting back to Jerry World would be slim. And that would make for a bleak fall around here.

BTS: As a journalist who's covered the Huskers and the Big 12 for a long time, what's your personal feelings about the transition Nebraska's about to make and what are you going to miss about the Big 12 and look forward to in the Big Ten?

Sipple: I'm not a very nostalgic type at all. Not much of a romantic when it comes to work-related stuff. But hell, I enjoyed covering the Big 12. I really like trips to Texas in late October, November and December. I obviously have had some great times in Austin over the years. I have what many might consider a strange affinity for Lubbock. I even enjoy trips to Waco. And I've always appreciated the high level of football in the league over the years. It's been very fun to cover.

Of course, I think the Nebraska-Missouri rivalry would've further escalated in intensity in years to come. I'll always wonder how far it might've progressed.

Oh yes, one thing that always has impressed me about Missouri is the administration's willingness to stick with Gary Pinkel through those tough years. I have to think folks are happy with where he's taken that program.

? SECOND DOWN: I touched on this briefly at the end of Wednesday’s story about Missouri perhaps being Gary Pinkel’s most complete MU team. On Monday, Pinkel described his 2010 edition as a very close, a very tight team. And just maybe, he allowed, the off-field legal troubles that struck this team in August might have nurtured some resolve that’s been carried out to the field.

“I think it did,” Pinkel said Monday. “I think we have a really tight team. Those were just some disciplinary issues, and we run a very disciplined program, and we activated the discipline we have in our program. But I think our players were tight. We’re a tight football team and care about one another. That made us a little bit more resilient.”

I took the same question to the players on Monday: Did the discipline issues force this team to refocus on football … and if so, is that undivided approach responsible for the Tigers’ 7-0 start? It’s sort of a chicken-or-the-egg question: Is the team winning because it’s so focused? Or is it so damn focused because it’s winning?

Either way, it triggered some compelling answers.

Safety Jarrell Harrison: “We know we had some adversity. We all love each other. And we’ve channeled that energy on the field. We know a lot of people were talking bad about us. And the program took some hits. But everybody tries to go out there and put this program in a good light.”

Linebacker Andrew Gachkar: “I don’t know if any good comes from bad things happening, but, that said, did we come together more? Maybe we did. I think this team’s already been together, but I think it made us realize we only want to worry about football. There’s nothing else to worry about during the season. We don’t have guys doing anything stupid. They’re not going out and worrying about parties. We’re only worried about football. We’re only worried about Nebraska. That’s all we care about.”

Center Tim Barnes: “These guys, it’s different. This team’s been different than the ones I’ve been on in the past. … I’ll go back to when I first got here, this team is just so different about being able to focus. Other teams in the past, yeah, we’ve had great teams and they were really good, but something about this team during the week in practice, getting after it. When you’re at home you’re not doing something that’s going to hurt the team. You’re not going downtown during the week. Most of the guys after practice, we’re too tired to do anything anyway.”

Tailback De’Vion Moore: “Not to say we’re glad it happened. We never want to have off-the-field issues in this program. It doesn’t just affect us. It affects the entire community. But for it to happen to us, we had to take it as it was given and had to learn from it. That’s what it was. It was a learning experience for us.”

Linebacker Will Ebner: “We’ve been preaching the ‘Fist.’ It’s what we call our team. We’re all a fist. We’ve got all these individual fingers and everyone’s got their problems, this or that, off the field. But whenever it’s game day or practice, all the fingers come together. And you can’t break that. We take a lot of pride in that.”

Receiver Wes Kemp: “The winds of adversity makes the roots grow deeper. So, I think our roots are pretty deep right now. We’ve got a lot of faith in each other. We’ve got a lot of faith in our team. That’s what we try to do on Saturdays for 60 minutes, try to show that we’re a team. I think we’re really hard to stop when we’re all clicking together like we were on Saturday. … We just got to stop embarrassing ourselves and our program. We needed to lick our wounds and learn from our mistakes and just keep moving forward.”

Heading into the season, I probably undersold the leadership of this team. It’s not a dynamic cast of engaging personalities — no Sean Weatherspoons in this group — but the Tigers have a mix of grizzled seniors in Barnes, both corners, Kevin Rutland and Carl Gettis, and linebackers Gachkar and Luke Lambert … a core of respected juniors in Kemp, Moore, Blaine Gabbert, Michael Egnew, Dan Hoch, Elvis Fisher, Kenji Jackson and Ebner … plus budding sophomores T.J. Moe and Aldon Smith.

? THIRD DOWN: Here are some matchups that are going to shape Saturday’s game:

Missouri defensive tackles Terrell Resonno, Jimmy Burge, Brendan Donaldson, Marvin Foster vs. Nebraska guards Ricky Henry and Keith Williams and center Mike Caputo. The Huskers’ offensive line is strong up the middle, and when the read option is clicking, the guards and center are carving alleys through defensive fronts for Taylor Martinez and his I-backs. The Tigers, meanwhile, won’t have their most experienced and productive interior lineman, nose tackle Dominique Hamilton, whose broken ankle will sideline him for the season. Resonno has played well alongside Hamilton, but if the Huskers smell a soft spot along the line, they’ll attack.

Missouri quarterback Blaine Gabbert vs. Nebraska’s Peso: The Huskers base defensive package is a nickel scheme with defensive back Eric Hagg replacing a linebacker. Against spread formations, NU will bring in a dime back, too, an extra safety in either P.J. Smith or Rickey Thenarse. Bottom line, the secondary is swimming with quick, dynamic athletes, not lumbering linebackers trying to cover receivers downfield. It’ll be up to Gabbert to decipher the Huskers’ combo coverages and find the cracks in the swarm of D-backs, which is why MU coaches spent the offseason studying Nebraska’s coverages. Hovering around the slots, look out for Hagg, a 6-2, 210-pound ball hawk, and DeJon Gomes, a versatile 6-foot, 190-pound candidate for Big 12 defensive player of the year. Oh yeah, plus the Huskers have two of the Big 12’s best elite corners in Prince Amukamara and Alfonzo Dennard rush not an issue. The good news for Gabbert is that Nebraska doesn’t rush the pocket like they did last season with Suh now in the NFL.

Missouri punter Matt Grabner vs. Nebraska punt returner Niles Paul: It’s rare that you see a Missouri punt returned for any significant yardage. Only 13 of MU’s 34 punts have been returned, and for a grand total of 43 yards, an average of 3.3 yards per return, 10th-best in the country. But Nebraska has by far the most potent punt return the Tigers will have seen so far. Paul averages a Big 12-best 11.4 yards per return, 16th-best nationally among players who have at least 10 returns. It’s crucial that Grabner’s rugby punts steer clear of Paul — and that the Tigers corral the receiver if he elects to dash upfield.

? FOURTH DOWN: There were a couple questions I couldn’t get to during Wednesday’s chat. Here’s one from Andrew1:

Q: I'm not clear on substitution rules, but I thought that if the offense is substituting, then by rule they must allow the defense time to do the same opportunity. If the fast paced Oklahoma offense does not substitute then it's a moot point. If the Oklahoma offense is substituting in this up-tempo offense then aren't they walking a thin line with this rule? Again though, I don't have a full understanding of the rule and whether or not Oklahoma substitutes when they go up-tempo.

A: The Sooners might have the fastest no-huddle offense I’ve ever seen in college football. On Saturday, they ran just 10 plays from scrimmage in the fourth quarter — and still ran 75 plays overall, about 11 off their season average. By the way, I pointed out last week that Jones becomes less efficient as a passer throughout the course of a game, his rating dropping by the quarter. He just about lived up to that trend against the Tigers:

First quarter: 10 of 13, 113 yards, TD, INT, 159.9 rating

Second quarter: 11 of 14, 135 yards, TD, 183.1 rating

Third quarter: 11 of 16, 55 yards, TD, 118.3 rating

Fourth quarter: 0 of 7, 0 yards, INT, minus-28.7 rating

As for Andrew’s question, here’s what the NCAA rule book has to say about substitutions:

Rule 3, Section 5e: While in the process of substitution or simulated substitution, Team A is prohibited from rushing quickly to the line of scrimmage with the obvious attempt of creating a defensive disadvantage. If the ball is ready for play, the game officials will not permit the ball to be snapped until Team B has placed substitutes in position and replaced players have left the field of play. Team B must react promptly with its substitutes.

PENALTY—Dead-ball foul. Delay of game on Team B for not completing its substitutions promptly, or delay of game on Team A for causing the play clock to expire. Five yards from the succeeding spot [S7 and S21]. The referee will then notify the head coach that any further use of this tactic will result in an unsportsmanlike conduct foul.

? OVERTIME Nine years ago this weekend the Tribune lost sports editor Kent Heitholt. Nine years. My how time absolutely zips by. Not a Halloween goes by that I don’t think about the big man. He would have enjoyed seeing Columbia come alive last weekend, before, during and after the Tigers’ victory. Hopefully, he had a good view.

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